SCOTUS rules on law banning ‘conversion therapy’ — and 2 liberal justices break rank

In a nearly unanimous decision, the Supreme Court has issued a ruling on one state’s ban on conversion therapy for minors, resulting in an important First Amendment win and setting a possible precedent for many states with similar laws on the books.

In an 8-1 decision released Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled in Chiles v. Salazar that, when applied to talk therapy, Colorado’s ban on minor-directed conversion therapy — or any therapy that attempts to “change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity” — “regulates speech based on viewpoint” in violation of the First Amendment.

‘The First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.’

The Colorado law, passed in 2019, was adopted “in response to a